A property owner says an intruder broke into his vacant home, which is for sale in Lake Highlands, showered, used the bathroom and cooked up a batch of methamphetamine.
Highland Meadows resident Michael Longoria notified his neighbors last week via Nextdoor.com that a white male wearing a buzz cut and brown leather jacket had unlawfully entered the home he and his wife are selling in the same neighborhood. With his permission, here’s what he says happened.
“After driving by on Wednesday, I noticed one of the windows was covered with a towel. Turns out someone had broken in, used the shower and toilet, and used the stove to cook meth. The police were immediately called but never showed up. We then went to the police station to file a report. Earlier in the day, I saw this man wandering through the neighborhood and was immediately suspicious.”
Longoria said that at noon the following day, he returned to the house and found the “suspicious” man sitting on the porch.
“It was the same guy I saw wandering the neighborhood the day before. I confronted him and he began to act flustered. He claimed he was meeting the Realtor there to look at the house but the Realtor confirmed that that was a lie.”
Longoria says the man took off when he said he was calling police.
The homeowner eventually spoke with police. It can take a day or more for Dallas police to respond to low-priority calls. (A high priority call involves a person in immediate danger). He said police later located the man in the Sams Club parking lot on Northwest Highway, questioned him and let him go.
The suspect reportedly told police that it was someone else in the house, not him.
Longoria posted a photo go the man he found on his porch, who he suspects of breaking into the home, on Nextdoor. Several neighbors responded that they had seen the man around and sleeping outside 7-11. Since he has not been convicted of a crime, we won’t share the photos here, but if you’re on Nextdoor, you’ll be able to view the post, along with responses and updates.
This wouldn’t be the first time someone has broken into a vacant property to cook meth. The security guard at a Lake Highlands apartment property once told me this is a common problem, especially if a tenant was evicted, for them or someone they know to return to the empty unit to cook up some meth.
The homeowners noted that they are beefing up security at the property they are selling and installing cameras.
